title: Nanosecond pulsed electric fields as a novel drug free therapy for breast cancer: an in vivo study.
abstract: Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) is a novel non-thermal approach to induce cell apoptosis. NsPEFs has been proven effective in treating several murine tumors, but few studies focus on its efficacy in treating human tumors. To determine if nsPEFs is equally effective in treatment of human breast cancer, 30 human breast cancer tumors across 30Balb/c (nu/nu) mice were exposed to 720 pulses of 100ns duration, at 4pulsespersecond and 30kV/cm. Two weeks after treatment, the growth of treated tumors was inhibited by 79%. Morphological changes of tumors were observed via a 3.0T clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system with a self-made surface coil. Pulsed tumors exhibited apoptosis evaluated by TUNEL staining, inhibition in Bcl-2 expression and decreased blood vessel density. Notably, CD34, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor (VEGFR) expression in treated tumors were strongly suppressed. To evaluate the might-be adverse effects of nsPEFs in healthy tissues, normal skin was treated exactly the same way as tumors, and pulsed skin showed no permanent damages. The results suggest nsPEFs is able to inhibit human breast cancer development and suppress tumor blood vessel growth, indicating nsPEFs may serve as a novel therapy for breast cancer in the future.
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Academy of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Academy of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Jinsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Academy of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Qunzhi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Academy of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: zhangjue@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Academy of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D061208:Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment
keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer therapy; Inhibition of angiogenesis; Pulsed electric fields